Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5, XSX, PC)

[Tyrath]

Ok everyone list all the paint spike locations you've found. I just got that ability and I know I've seen a bunch but can't remember them all lol

[Krandor]

For an idea of how ridiculous stat scaling gets (I edited out party members from the image for spoiler purposes)

Spoiler: show

Sciel is actually kinda low in the attack power department, Lune and the last party member are around 12k attack

Fought the boss at the end of what I assume is the level 99 side dungeon, they were beyond stupid and wiped the floor with me. I only have that and the "endless" dungeon left so think I'm gonna go beat the story tomorrow

[Koul]

I think one of my most absolute favorite things about this game are the journals from past expeditions. They each have so much personality and it's so fucking cool to see what sort of "attempt" they made to reach the Paintress or just knowing that their goal was to lay the groundwork for the next team(s). Usually in games I'm like "blahblah blah collectable" but in this one I'm eager to see em all

[Andalusian girls]

they also make all the climbing / grappling-hook spots + flag level up/save points make diegetic sense, while reinforcing through gameplay the whole 'tomorrow comes / if one falls, we continue / for those who come after' thematic messages of perseverance and giving your life and death meaning in the face of existential loss.

it's a minor thing that doesn't require explanation in other games, but Sandfall built a whole ass world-building plot device around yellow paint and save points, which simultaneously reinforce some of the most salient messages of their game. it is a rare level of artistry here.

[Mayareira]

This game so far has the most realistic approach to "Memento Mori" and perfectly reflects the sense of urgency it creates. While we have to constantly remind ourselves of our limited time on Earth through awareness, meditations etc., they have a huge number 33 visible to them from anywhere on earth. Other video games or entertainment in general either superficially approaches the topic or overly dramatizes it but here you are perfectly able to feel the characters actually in the situation, how they are trying to make a meaning out of it in the most realistic way possible.

I have no doubt the writers had spent a good bit of time meditating on the concept of death most likely beyond the R&D phase for the game itself, reading works like Meditations. It is the ultimate philosophical concept that we are all in after all.

[Tyrath]

Ok everyone list all the paint spike locations you've found. I just got that ability and I know I've seen a bunch but can't remember them all lol

So far I've found 3 on the world map, a detour with some Colour of Lumina in Spring Meadows and a whole ass big side area in Ancient Sanctuary.

I'ma need you guys to stop holding out on me with these paint spike locations

[Krandor]

As far as I noticed the random ones spread out around the world map didn't seem to have anything super important hiding in them, just catalyst/colour/chroma which are all regular drops later in the game.

[Tyrath]

Yeah seems to be the case.

There's 1 or 2 in every dungeon so far that open up a detour/small area, so I've gone back to get those

Edit: Also a couple in Gestral Village leading to a pictos and a weapon

[chazzyphizzle]

i know krandor has been talking about scaling but yeah goddamn act 3 really jumps off lol. everything is so damn strong right now

[Krandor]

Talk to everyone in camp and do the quests they give you, that's definitely where you're supposed to start off. Doing those quests then the Frozen Hearts zone should get you to around 70-75 which should let you do everything but the last few zones.

[Tyrath]

Lol yeah I just went into Frozen Hearts when it unlocked and I was like wtf guess thats meant for later.

[chazzyphizzle]

i fought the regular mobs just outside of frozen hearts, killed them but it took an eternity because only one person had 9999 damage break, but it was maelle so that was nice

[Tyrath]

Didn't notice any OP regular mobs outside?

[chazzyphizzle]

dunno, they were in the overworld in the open area by the carousel/frozen hearts. they had more HP than the act 2 boss fight, just didnt hit crazy hard. i also enjoyed trying to zone into the reach i think it was and verso just saying naw lets not

[Koul]

Lol yeah I just went into Frozen Hearts when it unlocked and I was like wtf guess thats meant for later.

It may break Act 2 difficulty but you can kite nearly everything in Frozen hearts and get the higher level pictos and a decent chunk of chroma. I was able to get a few weapon upgrade materials to break the 19 > 20 weapon barrier. Needless to say Act 2 has been a bit of a breeze lol

[Tyrath]

I think I'll just wait lol. I already feel overleveled for the story right now

[Mayareira]

I may be in a similar situation. Went with following Act II build below:

Spoiler: show

Verso w/ Lv. 19 Dualiso, Combo Attack, Augmented Attack, Dead Energy II almost constantly near MAX AP, 4 hit Base Attack or 2x Base Attack + any skill. Toss in a decent bit of Defense/Vitality and he just rips everything off

The so called close to zero chance battle took 3-4 mins.

Oh and I have a completionist tendency so I explored everywhere I can go on the map.

[Tyrath]

Man screw this ultimate beach challenge climb I just lost a good 20 mins progress to a fall.

Reward better be some victorias secret level stuff not another grandma swimsuit.

Lol I was like this is the easiest one yet. Until it kept going and going and going and then I fell on a dumb tiny block and got frustrated

I was literally just a little bit away from the top too

Edit: Oh no, I thought I was near a Gestral at the end but he just points for me to keep going, FFS.

[Jamison]

Just finished. A handful of (mostly) non-spoilery thoughts.

Spoiler: show

JFC. Words cannot describe this game. I have never been so compelled by a story, nor felt the epicness of a journey, in this way before. Obviously the art is gorgeous and the music inspiring. The story is tragic and the gameplay engaging. I haven’t read back through this thread yet but all that is probably well-trodden ground at this point.

As I was playing these were things I kept thinking “I can’t believe this is as good as it is”:

The dialogue and voice acting was so incredibly convincing. It felt real in a way I didn’t think was possible in a game. I’ve been really tiring of medieval fantasy and this was modern in such a refreshing way. The subtle animations and interactions were spot-on throughout.

The zones were huge but never overwhelming. The design is truly superb – it was almost impossible to get lost and it was almost always obvious which was the main way forward and which was the side path. That made it never a grind and never unfair.

Upgrades felt powerful and rewarding. Checking the side paths or optional zones always felt worthwhile, and the bumps in weapon strength and pitcos always felt good. Really good. Side items mostly were never hidden, they always found a way for you to see something from a distance so you knew you had to find way there. Obviously some stuff is missable, but they specifically put the majority of findables in your sightline at some point.

I love the risk/reward inherent in the pictos. Even though I played fairly conservatively there’s such massive damage potential by going all glass cannon I could see some really interesting speed runs or some such down the line.

The only misstep I found fault with was the beginning of Act 3. I was expecting a longer portion of exploration and story there – not a bee-line to the end – and after being a bit overpowered by the end of Act 2 it was frustrating to get oneshot by almost everything in the world at this point. After roaming around a while and making near zero progress I realized I wasn’t supposed to be doing that.

I guess I’ll add one other thing that some particular enemies seemed really hard to time, and they didn’t always do a great job of introducing the patterns at the start of a zone. I don’t know if was their animations or what, but some attacks truly seemed to come out of nowhere. It would have been nice if the text description was on the screen a tad longer, or the start of a battle had another second or two pause to prepare.

That being said, this game really was the whole package. It was an experience, it was extremely fun, and it was truly something special.

[Tyrath]

Lol I was like this is the easiest one yet. Until it kept going and going and going and then I fell on a dumb tiny block and got frustrated

I was literally just a little bit away from the top too

Edit: Oh no, I thought I was near a Gestral at the end but he just points for me to keep going, FFS.

Ok after that pointing statue I actually didn't fall and managed to do it.

But that was the definition of palms are sweaty, knees weak, etc.